Consort Liu was surprised by his sudden question, and her smile became awkward. Just as she was about to say something nice to coax him, he said, "Never mind, I know even if you don't tell me."
"Your Majesty has misunderstood me. In my heart, Your Majesty will always be the best."
She spoke softly, her pleasant voice soothing the old emperor's disappointment and sadness.
"You don't need to say these things to please me; I know what I'm doing."
Although he said that, the old emperor was indeed much better inside.
Consort Liu continued, "These are my true feelings. No matter what others think, in my heart, Your Majesty is a good husband."
The old emperor smiled but didn't say anything; he simply patted Consort Liu's hand.
In the years he had cultivated Taoism, he had become almost insane and had hardly paid any attention to the women in the harem. Only Consort Liu was an exception. Unlike the other women who were eager to climb the social ladder, she stayed by his side obediently. Therefore, he treated Consort Liu exceptionally well.
But it's only slightly better.
After a long while, he said, "It's no use for me to ignore state affairs and continue to occupy this throne. It's time for the Crown Prince to take on everything."
"What does His Majesty intend to do..."
"Yes, let's choose an auspicious day and abdicate in favor of the Crown Prince."
The old emperor's voice grew increasingly dejected. It wasn't that he was unwilling to accept it; he simply felt that he had failed and was destined to become the most useless emperor in history.
Consort Liu seemed completely unconcerned about who held the throne. Her voice grew even gentler as she said, "Then Your Majesty can focus on recuperating. Once Your Majesty is well, I will accompany you out of the palace to travel around and see the beautiful landscapes of our Northern Yan. What do you say?"
"OK!"
The old emperor smiled contentedly, suddenly realizing that being an emperor wasn't all that great. If he hadn't been angry with his father back then, he wouldn't have actually wanted to be emperor.
Now it's all right, he's finally figured it out and is willing to let go.
Consort Liu stopped massaging his shoulders and instead brewed him a pot of tea. She then asked, "When does His Majesty plan to announce this? This is big news; the ministers might not agree..."
"I'd like to see who dares to interfere!"
The old emperor snorted coldly. When he was emperor, those people thought he was not a good emperor and impeached him every day. Now that he didn't want to be emperor anymore, they still wanted to stop him. Then he would use his imperial power one last time.
Consort Liu smiled but didn't say anything. She genuinely liked the old emperor's current state, and if things continued like this, she thought she could live a very happy life.
As the time approached, the old emperor even considered personally going out of the palace to pick up his two children from school. However, if he went, he couldn't just pick up those two children; he also had his son and other grandchildren studying there, which would make the procession quite large.
Consort Liu hurriedly advised, "Your Majesty, please calm down. I know you like Young Master Lu, but you can't show such favoritism. If the other princes and grandsons see this, Young Master Lu's days at the academy will only become more difficult!"
Although the old emperor can indeed protect the dog now, he can't protect him forever. The dog has a long life ahead of him, and there will always be areas he can't take care of. This high-profile favoritism is actually just creating trouble for the dog.
"Yes, yes, I know, I won't go."
The old emperor nodded repeatedly, then ordered someone to pick them up, and also instructed them to bring some pastries and tea so that the two children could have something to eat on the way.
Consort Liu had no idea how the old emperor could be so thoughtful. No wonder the princes and princesses in the harem had been so restless lately, almost crying themselves to sleep in the outhouse.
Suddenly, I felt that the Lu family was like some kind of magic, guiding the old emperor onto the right path. The old emperor now was completely different from before.
Thinking of this, she advised again, "When Your Majesty has time, you should also go and see those little princes and princesses. You can't show favoritism to one over the other!"
Consort Liu herself had no children. She didn't want any before, and now she felt it was unnecessary. Moreover, the old emperor's health didn't allow it, so she didn't want to add to her burden. But this did not affect her love for children.
Consort Liu was able to remain in power in the harem not only because of the old emperor's favor, but more importantly because she never abused her power and because she had no children, she posed no threat to the empress or other concubines, so she was quite popular.
"You're right. I need to pay more attention to them from now on. Let's have them all come over for dinner tonight."
The old emperor was now very receptive to advice, and Consort Liu smiled and agreed, then sent someone to carry it out.
After Gou'er and the young prince returned, the old emperor called them over and comforted them. Seeing that they were not affected, he sent them to do their homework.
That evening, a true family banquet was held in the palace. Apart from Gou'er, who was an outsider, there was only the Crown Prince's family, the old emperor's concubines, and the young princes and princesses.
Because in previous years the old emperor was busy cultivating immortality and had no time to attend to the harem, there were not many concubines or children; a large round table was enough for them to sit on.
Now that the situation is settled, the Crown Prince's strength is unmatched by the other princes, and everyone has lost the will to compete. In addition, since it is a rare opportunity to dine with the old emperor, everyone behaves themselves. Apart from the young princes and princesses being a little unhappy with the dog, the meal is quite harmonious.
However, this harmony did not last long. During this time, the old emperor took extra care of Gou'er, always personally serving him food. The seventeenth prince could not stand it and, disregarding his mother's objections, said on the spot, "Father, he is just an outsider. How can you trouble yourself to take care of him?"
The old emperor paused in his act of picking up food, but he wasn't angry. He even smiled and explained, "He's still young, and his parents aren't around, so naturally I have to take extra care of him."
The seventeenth prince was even more displeased and said directly, "The Lu family is merely Father Emperor's subject. Why should they send their child to the palace for Father Emperor to take care of? Does the Lu family not even have enough servants? Or do they just like to treat Father Emperor like an old servant!"
In his heart, his father was the supreme ruler and should be served. Even his own flesh and blood had never been an exception. Why should he treat Gou'er so well? What did they matter then?
The seventeenth prince is only seven years old this year, a year younger than the youngest prince. He is a bit like a newborn calf that is not afraid of tigers when facing the old emperor. Of course, more importantly, the old emperor's temper has improved a lot recently. If it were before, he would not dare to speak to the old emperor like this even if he had ten times the courage.
"Seventeen, what nonsense are you spouting? Sit down quickly, don't anger your father!"
The seventeenth prince's mother, Consort Rou, was extremely nervous. When she arrived, she kept telling the child not to cause trouble and to just eat his food quietly. Why wouldn't the child listen?
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